DelVal Students Attend the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge – BUCKSCO.Today

Image via Delaware Valley University.

Front row, from left: Isabella Anderson and Joanne Powell. Back row, from left: Michael Powell, Megan Roberts, and Maia Sudler.

Four Delaware Valley University recently students participated in the 2025 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge in Gainesville, Fla.

The 22nd annual event brought together approximately 260 students from colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada. This year’s event was hosted by the Southern Region and based at the University of Florida.

Dairy Challenge is an innovative, three-day educational event designed to prepare students for careers in the dairy industry. Senior students compete on contest teams with their respective schools, while undergraduate students participate in the Dairy Challenge Academy. These students are placed on aggregate teams with students from other schools. Each team is paired with a mentor who guides them through the evaluation and the preparation of their recommendations.

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All teams assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm, including facilities, nutrition, financials, reproduction, animal health, and more. Students collaborated on a 20-minute team presentation that detailed their observations and suggestions to a panel of judges and participating farm families. Teams were ranked based on how well their evaluations matched judges’ assessments of the dairy operation. Academy teams receive valuable feedback from the judges, which will help to prepare them for their turn on a contest team.

DelVal’s team included Isabella Anderson, Michael Powell, Megan Roberts, and Maia Sudler. The team is coached by Joanne Powell and Dr. Ivelisse Robles.

In between events, students attended a career fair featuring potential employers from the dairy industry. Students submitted resumes along with their registration materials, so employers were able to assess potential new hires. Students also attended sponsor-led seminars on a variety of topics ranging from benchmarking to genetics and genomics.

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A trip to “the Swamp,” the University of Florida’s football stadium, for dinner and tailgate games with the event sponsors and volunteers provided students with a much-needed break from data analysis and presentation preparations. It was an exciting evening as the university’s basketball team was playing in the National Championship, and the campus was full of celebrations.

DelVal’s participation was possible due to grant funding from the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and the Northeast Agricultural Education Foundation and private donations.

Dairy Challenge NAIDC is an innovative event for students in dairy programs at North American post-secondary institutions. Its mission is to develop tomorrow’s dairy leaders and enhance the progress of the dairy industry by providing education, communication, and networking among students, producers, and agribusiness and university personnel.

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Over its 22-year national history, Dairy Challenge has helped prepare more than 5,000 students for careers as farm owners and managers, consultants, researchers, veterinarians, or other dairy professionals.

Learn more about how Delaware Valley University educates students with a curriculum that emphasizes and requires experiential learning.